Following his loss to Drew Dober at UFC on FOX 13, Jamie Varner announced he was done fighting, but clearly the former WEC champ intends to remain integrally involved in MMA.

If you missed the news this weekend, due to perhaps one too many rum and eggnogs…Varner announced his retirement after he was tapped out by Dober in the opening round. The rugged vet said he made the decision Saturday’s fight was going to be his last several weeks back, and noted all the injuries he’s incurred over the years has hindered his ability to compete.

Of course, Varner was asked by the media what he plans to do moving forward, and the 30 year-old said he will focus on running his gym and coaching up-and-coming fighters. In addition, the Arizona resident said he hopes to be a driving force in creating a fighters union.

Here is just some of what Varner had to say about the subject (quote via MMA Junkie.com):

“I think if we implemented some sort of union or something like that, we could eventually – fighters – this could be a real career. You see so many pro fighters now, and I want to help the future of fighters.”

“I think it’s something that needs to happen,” Varner said. “We are a mainstream, major sport now, and if you look at all the mainstream, major sports, they all have unions, and they have league minimums and some sort of retirement (plan) and all that kind of stuff. I think that’s something that needs to happen for fighters because this is one of those careers that when it’s over, a lot of these guys don’t have something else.”

Varner certainly isn’t the first fighter to propose a union, and it will be interesting to see whether he plays a role in creating one. It’s been a topic of discussion for years, but no high profile, UFC fighters have jumped on board, at least not publicly any ways…

“C-4” finished his career having gone 21-11-1 since he turned pro in 2003. Varner scored wins over notable vets like Edson Barboza, Melvin Guillard and Donald Cerrone during his run as a pro fighter.